Watchdog says contractor that performed background check of NSA leaker under investigation

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog testified Thursday there may have

been problems with a security clearance background check conducted on

the 29-year-old federal contractor who disclosed previously secret

National Security Agency programs for collecting phone records and

Internet data — just as news media disclosed more information about

those programs.



Appearing at a Senate hearing, Patrick McFarland, the U.S. Office of

Personnel Management's inspector general, said USIS, the company that

conducted the background investigation of former NSA systems analyst

Edward Snowden, is now under investigation itself.



McFarland declined to say what triggered the inquiry of USIS or

whether the probe is related to Snowden. But when asked by Sen. Jon

Tester, D-Mont., if there were any concerns about the USIS background

check on Snowden, McFarland answered: "Yes, we do believe that there

may be some problems."



Meanwhile, new details emerged about the scope of two recently

disclosed NSA programs — one that gathers U.S. phone records and

another that is designed to track the use of U.S.-based Internet

servers by foreigners with possible links to terrorism.



Two new documents published Thursday by The Guardian newspaper — one

labeled "top secret" and the other "secret" — said NSA can keep copies

of intercepted communications from or about U.S. citizens indefinitely

if the material contains significant intelligence or evidence of

crimes.



McFarland declined after the Senate hearing to describe to reporters

the type of investigation his office is conducting. Sen. Claire

McCaskill, D-Mo., said she was told the inquiry is a criminal

investigation related "to USIS' systemic failure to adequately conduct

investigations under its contract."



"We are limited in what we can say about this investigation because it

is an ongoing criminal matter," said McCaskill, chairwoman of the

Senate subcommittee on financial and contracting oversight. "But it is

a reminder that background investigations can have real consequences

for our national security."



McCaskill's panel conducted the hearing jointly with Tester's

subcommittee on efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs.



USIS, based in Falls Church, Va., said in a statement that it has

never been informed that it is under criminal investigation. USIS

received a subpoena from the inspector general's office in January

2012 for records, the statement said. "USIS complied with that

subpoena and has cooperated fully with the government's civil

investigative efforts," according to the company.



USIS declined to comment on whether it conducted a background

investigation of Snowden. The company said it performs thousands of

background investigations each year for OPM and other government

agencies. "These investigations are confidential and USIS does not

comment on them," the USIS statement said.



The background check USIS performed on Snowden was done in 2011 and

was part of periodic reinvestigations that are required for employees

who hold security clearances, according to McFarland and Michelle

Schmitz, the assistant inspector general for investigations at OPM.



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